Ferrari at Monza

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Half an hour – or 20 minutes by crazed taxi – north-northeast of Milan, Monza should by rights be Alfa Romeo country. And so it was for a time, its glorious P2, 8C – aka ‘Monza’ – and P3 models winning Italian Grands Prix at the parkland track during the 1920s and ’30s. Its Alfettas then won in 1950 – the occasion of the original world championship showdown.

Monza, however, has since indubitably become Ferrari territory. Nineteen times its blood-red cars have won the Italian GP. (McLaren lies next on 10.) Eighteen times a blood-red car has sat on pole. And 18 times a blood-red car has set fastest lap.

Its had its failures, arguments and disasters, too: Alberto Ascari’s last-lap collision and miffed trudge of 1953; Luigi Musso’s refusal to hand over to champion elect Juan Fangio in ’56; Wolfgang von Trips’ terrifying tumble into the crowd in ’61; and Jean Alesi’s broken gearbox and wheel bearing when leading in ’94 and ’95.

Monza stirs emotion like no other circuit. Phil Hill watched with dismay while team-mate and title rival von Trips dangerously over-tightened his internal spring during practice and pre-race prep in 1961. (Enzo Ferrari, a self-professed ‘agitator of men’, had selected this ticklish moment to unleash the furious speed of Ricardo Rodríguez.) In ’94, Alesi, still wearing his overalls, jumped directly aboard an Alfa 164 and roared at unabated speed to his French Riviera home. An emotional man, fuelled by adulatory adrenalin and launched by sudden, disorientating disappointment, he blindly ignored his private jet parked, ready and waiting, at Malpensa. And could Michael Schumacher, supposedly an unemotional man, have made his retirement-in-victory speech of 2006 at anywhere other than the track where he broke down in tears during a 2000 press conference? No.

Monza affected Enzo, too. In 1933, his team ran the P3 that Luigi Fagioli used to defeat Tazio Nuvolari: a sweet victory given the latter’s recent turbulent defection to Modenese rival Maserati.

The sour came later that same day when Giuseppe Campari, one of the few to win Enzo’s heart, was killed on the opening lap of the second heat of the Monza GP, held at the venue’s then shallow-banked oval.

A forlorn Scuderia Ferrari had already packed and left when Polish Count Stanislas Czaykowski crashed from the lead of the final and to his death. By which time hospitalised Baconin Borzacchini had succumbed to injuries sustained in the earlier incident. No wonder a harder, cooler Enzo emerged from this end-of-era event. The shades came down and it wouldn’t be long before only practice days at Monza drew him blinking into his adoring public’s gaze.

Still, Ascari opened Ferrari’s Italian GP account, in the Alfettas’ absence, in 1949. He won again in ’51 – defeating the Alfettas already wounded by Froilán González at Silverstone – and again in ’52.

Hill, who always went well here, in 1960 scored the valedictory victory for a front-engined GP car, and in ’61 stayed calm to become perhaps the most reflective world champion. John Surtees reaffirmed his title push in ’64, something that was denied him by team politics in ’66, when bit-parters Ludovico Scarfiotti and Mike Parkes carved it up between them instead.

Clay Regazzoni won as a ‘young shaver’ in ’70 – he was 31 and a day, albeit in his first F1 season – and again, complete with luxuriant GT Man moustache, in ’75. Gilles Villeneuve, blithely convinced that his time would come, willingly towed the party line in ’79 as Jody Scheckter’s faithful wingman.

Enzo’s ‘presence’ had been ever-present. The undertow of his mortal demise, however, dragged his team down. Indeed Niki Lauda, briefly in an advisory role, reckoned its history was Ferrari’s greatest weakness. The Schumacher Era eventually was able to run, almost roughshod, over it, so great was the sum of its impressive parts. And Monza’s track invasions lost their spontaneity so regularly did victory come: 1996, ’98, 2000, from ’02-’04 and ’06.

The new iteration of Ferrari is not so gilded or armour-plated. Red Bull’s recent theatrical vacillation dented it with alarming ease, and Fernando Alonso and Luca di Montezemolo sparred verbally before assurances were given that all was well between them – when clearly it is not. In fact, I would go so far as to say that their relationship stands on the brink this weekend.

In 2010, the Spaniard, in the midst of a sequence that should have won him the title, delivered a Grand Slam at Monza: pole, victory and fastest lap; only the best time of Q1 eluded him. His was a Schumacher-esque performance, staying out a lap longer to jump the McLaren of erstwhile leader Jenson Button.

He needs a repeat of this on Sunday if wishes to keep alive his hopes of a third world championship.

But even then post-Enzo history – it exists! – would stand against him. Between 1990 and 2010, only Senna and Schumacher – the latter twice, in 2000 and ’03 – became world champion as a result of campaigns that included victory at Monza.

They were joined in 2011 by you-know-who. Fresh-faced Sebastian Vettel is too busy making it to be weighed down by history. And only in the undertow of his and/or Adrian Newey’s eventual departure will fizzy Red Bull come to know how difficult it is to be ‘Ferrari’.

Monza’s tingling atmosphere is both good and bad, dappled light and shade by its trees and the history they have overseen. If there is any room remaining for ghosts – or magic – in F1’s increasingly rational, metronomic machine, it’s lies here: where Enzo and Alonso ‘meet’.

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Contributor

Having spent much of his formative years soaked and sideways in his father’s 1933 Frazer Nash TT Replica, Paul has long been in thrall to old cars and past – and current – motor racing. He joined Motoring News as junior rally reporter in 1990 and went freelance in 2005, having edited Motoring News, F1 Racing and Motor Sport in the meantime.

Trivia alert: car 22 in the top photograph is the Jaguar-engined Ferrari of Clemente Biondetti. He qualified it 25th of 27 – 32 seconds off the pace! – and retired after 17 laps because of engine failure.

on 5th September 2013 at 15:13

Bill

Fantastic article! Ill never forget the Italian GP of 1994, when Ferrari brought a new special qualifying iteration of the greatest sounding F1 engine ever, the 043 V12. I watched it being unloaded from the truck, and that Monza spec engine gave ferrari a 1-2 in qualifying. Up and until the engine freeze, I think Ferrari always brought a special Monza engine (just like Honda would make a Suzuka special engine). Ah, the good old days…

on 5th September 2013 at 16:03

Pvt Doberman

Those two races in 94 and 95 were heartbreakers with poor Alesi denied a win in front of the Tifosi that I’m sure would have meant as much to him as winning the Championship. In 95 watching him climb out, almost expecting that, of course something would go wrong, climb on to the pit wall and wave to the stands one last time knowing his Ferrari career was drawing to a close. It was emotional!!

on 5th September 2013 at 16:56

Marty D

An enjoyable read. Some interesting results in your Monza poll, too; number one is pretty easy to guess, but surprised to see the breakdown of the rest. I cast my vote based on the look (and sound) of that year’s car–and found I’d chosen number two!

on 6th September 2013 at 00:39

Giancarlo

Excellent article as Bill mentioned Ferrari always has special engine for Monza but it did not work in 1974 when first Niki and then Clay broke down their flat 12s leaving the victory to Ronnie Peterson. After Clay retired thousands of fans left the track…in that occasion the good Clay Regazzoni missed the chance to win his world championship.

on 6th September 2013 at 09:40

Dick Richards

Hard to believe that the 66 victory by Scarfiotti marks 47 years since the last win for an Italian at Monza. Immediate prospect don’t look too promising either.

on 6th September 2013 at 14:45

Bill

I was wondering if anyone knows when that huge iconic AGIP billboard was removed from Monza? It was amazing seeing fans climb up on it, and tear tiny holes in it to sit and watch the race.

on 6th September 2013 at 14:56

Rich Ambroson

A truly magic track.

One thing regarding the ’88 event—I recall in the official FOCA season review video that Sir Stirling Moss put the blame on Senna for the mix up with Schlesser.

on 6th September 2013 at 17:54

Rob Christoph

Great article Paul but in defence of Schlesser, it was Senna who tripped himself up that day. Jean Louis had all but left the track trying to get out of his way but Ayrton just turned in on him. Stirling’s opinion is spot on.

on 6th September 2013 at 23:04

Paul Fearnley

Yes, Senna was impulsive – his McLaren was in fuel debt and his team was worried about a piston melting and the Ferraris were catching up – but have you seen Schlesser bump over those kerbs? It looked very amateurish. He was being lapped for a second time. He should have parked it. No excuses.

on 7th September 2013 at 08:37

Dave Cubbedge

I think it’s telling that in the poll, Schumi’s most popular ’96 win comes in rather far down the list….